Running on Empty
by Nemisses
Summary: Ziva is slowly picking up what is left of her after Somalia together with Gibbs she is putting herself back together.
1. Chapter 1

I was checking my usb stick on which I keep my stories saved and I came across this one. I thought I should finish this one and wrote chapter 4 but when I wanted to publish it I realised I never even uploaded chapter one. Weird, since it isn't that bad, so why not go ahead. Anyway this takes place just after Abby has given Ziva a bone crushing hug in the season's opening episode. I don't know if the medical stuff I wrote is even possible but guess what it's FanFiction. I had someone beta read this for me and she is called Special Agent Stace and to her I apologize for completly forgetting this story but not matter what I am thankfull that she did it for me even if I forgot. (I still cannot think of a reason why...I still have a feeling I did publish it but I cannot find it anywere on my account here in fanfiction land) So enjoy and there at least 4 more chapters coming your way in the next couple of days)

**Running on Empty**

Abby was still hugging her, wasn't about to let her go anytime soon. Abby wanted to reassure her friend that she was home, safe but then Abby felt Ziva's slipping through her arms.

"Guys, ….oh god guys help me. I can't hold her." Abby cried.

Gibbs, McGee and Ducky quickly crowded around Abby, Ziva had fainted in Abby's arms.

"Downstairs" Ducky ordered. " I can take a look at her there but we need to get her to a real hospital as soon as possible. Who knows what they did to her. She looks malnourished to begin with"

Gibbs lifted Ziva up and was astonished by her weight. He could feel her bones sticking out, her clothes had masked it, but he was feeling it now.

"She has lost a hell of a lot of weight, Duck."

Ducky nodded. "I know, I know, let's just get her downstairs. Timothy, please call Bethesda Hospital and tell them we are on our way with a former POW who has been tortured and is severely malnourished" In all the chaos Ducky forgot that McGee knew all the details too.

Ducky was horrified by the amount of weight loss Ziva had lost. It was a mystery how she had even survived. He quickly checked her out in his morgue and after McGee gave the signal that he had informed Bethesda he gave Gibbs the okay to move Ziva from the table to the car that was waiting for them in the garage.

Tony was determined to drive, but the others quickly vetoed that idea since he looked like a walking zombie. Instead Gibbs forced him into the passenger seat en driven like a maniac to get Ziva safe and sound to Bethesda.

'Dammit they should have taken her to hospital as soon as we landed' Tony thought angrily to himself. Now he realized why they hadn't taken more notice of her distress. They all had been so darn proud and relieved to have gotten her out of Africa and knowing that Ziva didn't like to express much emotion even in everyday situations, they didn't even bother to ask her how she was feeling. Tony felt shivers running down his spine. He remembered when McGee had cut her free she she stood over Saleem's dead body en spat. Then she snarled something in Arabic, and that sentence was the last she had spoken.

When they arrived at Bethesda, the others had followed in a separate car, there were quite a few nurses and doctors waiting for them at the emergency entrance. Ziva hadn't made a sound or even moved a bit during the drive there, but when they tried to move her from the car to a stretcher she made a sound as if she was in pain. As soon as they were in the hospital, Ziva began to shake violently. The doctors and nurses began to shout all sorts of medical terms that only Ducky, who had become very pale, may have had a chance of understanding.

He turned around. The rest of the team were looking at him expectantly, desperately wanting information, any information.

"I didn't catch all of it but as far as I can understand it she is having a seizure due to a extreme high body temperature. I think one of the doctors called it the desert variety of malaria. It's caused due to infection of wounds and a poor immune system. And her poor general state clearly isn't exactly helping either"

"Why didn't she say something. Why didn't she tell you guys she wasn't feeling well" Abby was nearly in tears.

No-one spoke up, because no-on could explain Ziva's silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Many, many thanks to Special Agent Stace for beta reading this. It reads a lot smoother once you have corrected some of my sentences. If there are any more languages mistakes the fault is all mine. Enjoy and don't forget REVIEW. Many thx to the ones who reviewed the previous chapter it's much appreciated.

**Running on Empty**

**Chapter 2  
**

Ziva opened her eyes. She had woken to a noise, and noise usually meant more beatings. She looked around for a corner, where she would be protected from two sides. The only way Saleem or one of his men could get her was from the front- and she would see those lashes coming. Every single bone in her body protested when she moved, but she had been trained to defend herself her entire life, and she knew that more than the pain. But oh God, she was so tired.

Gibbs noticed the night nurse running past him and enter Ziva's room. He decided to follow, his heart broke when he saw Ziva asleep in the corner of the room, her arms around her chest and knees. The nurse, clearly oblivious to Ziva's history, attempted to wake her up and before Gibbs could warn her, Ziva had the nurse by the throat and was choking the life out of her. Gibbs moved fast and grabbed Ziva, preventing her from actually killing the nurse.

"Get out." He whispered to the nurse, who was trying to catch her breath.

"just get out, I'll deal with her."

"She tried to kill me!"

"Just get out!" Gibbs said again, through clenched teeth. "She doesn't know you."

The nurse left the room and Gibbs backed off, giving Ziva much needed space. After Gibbs saw that she had relaxed a little, he walked over to the nurses station.

"You ok ?"

The nurse nodded, looking frightened and confused.

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. She is my co-worker, Ziva David. You read her file ?"

"No, sir, not yet. I was about to when the alarm went off."

"You read, I'll wait"

Gibbs walked back to Ziva's room and saw that she had taken up position in the opposite corner, still trying to protect as much of her body as possible. The nurse touched his shoulder.

"Sir….she needs to get back into bed, she need the IV lines back into her system."

"I know that, but I don't want a repeat of what just happened." Gibbs leaned against the doorframe and frowned, but all of a sudden the nurse brightened.

"We could move the bed in the corner. It's against regulations, because doctors always need access to both sides of the bed, but I think in his case we could bend the rules a little bit."

Gibbs walked into the room and felt Ziva's eyes on him, they followed him everywhere. He moved the bed so that it occupied the corner where Ziva had been sleeping before the nurse had tried to wake her.

Gibbs got to his knees in front of Ziva.

"You can get into the bed. I've placed it in the corner for you. The IV line has to be put back into you arm. You need it. You are safe here, Ziva. You're home."

Gibbs could tell she was beginning to hear him. The fog was slowly beginning to lift from her eyes. After a minute she got up slowly, moved past him and got onto the bed. Gibbs motioned for the nurse to come and replace the IV. Just as the nurse was about to leave, Ziva reached out and grabbed her arm. Gibbs heard a hoarse voice that he wouldn't have been able to distinguish as Ziva's had he not seen her speak.

"Sorry"

After the nurse had left, Gibbs pulled up one the chairs and took a seat next to Ziva's bed. Gibbs watched her as she began to drift away again.

"It's okay, I'm here"

He felt her hand grabbing his just before she was completely asleep. This was the way the rest of the team found them.

Ziva would need extensive medical treatment, and the team was told that it would take some time.

Ziva never contacted the team during her recovery, wouldn't even allow the hospital staff to let them in when they visited. Several weeks passed without a word from her. This was her fight.

In the squad room, Tony and McGee were bickering about who was the most handsome one of the two when the elevator pinged and opened, revealing Ziva standing there. The two men were awestruck.

"Ziva" they said in unison.

Ziva walked out of the elevator and came to a standstill just before Tony and McGee. She looked even smaller than before. She had a slight limp, but if you had never met her before you wouldn't even notice it. She hadn't regained all of her weight, so her clothes were a little baggy. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact that her normal size clothes wouldn't fit her properly anymore.

"Actually, I find McGee to be the more handsome, nothing personal." She shrugged.

"Ziva, what are you doing here? Uh, not that we don't like having you back, but what made you come here?" McGee asked.

"I have a appointment with Director Vance"

All Tony could do was stare at his former partner, and she met his gaze every step of the way.

Ziva heard McGee mutter something along the lines of 'going to get the butter nutter' and take off.

Ziva sighed. It had been a tough day. Getting her head bitten of by Abby…..Vance saying she was 'damaged goods'. The last remark had stung, especially since it was truth- but God, he did not have to say it to her face. She knew what she was, she knew who she was, but mostly she knew what she wanted to be- and she all of it more than anyone else. Three months alone in a cell will do that to you. She wanted to be part of the NCIS family. The confrontation yesterday with Gibbs, and today with the rest of the team had been a great step forward. She was going to get there, even if it killed her. She smiled…even if it killed her. She had died, but had risen from her own ashes. And she wasn't about to let anyone to tell her otherwise.

She went and bought a plant to put on her desk, yes her desk. Vance had allowed her to fill that desk until her position with both Mossad and NCIS had been resolved. And a plant was appropriate for those house heating parties Americans loved. So why not a desk heating ? She loved the look on Tony and McGee's faces when she put the plant down and sat down at her desk. She had lots of paperwork to catch up with.

TBC…

Yup, people go right ahead and push the green button and review. If you don't review I don't know if you like what I've done.


	3. Chapter 3

I would like to thank Vicky24c for beta reading this. If there are any more mistakes it's all on me. I will have to take this story nice and slow maybe one chapter a week, cause I am also writing several others. (I am on a flow or is it in a flow right now) Well anyway I hope you enjoy and please leave a review.

**Running on Empty  
Part 3  
**  
It took Ziva time, but she slowly started feeling better. She remained silent about her time in Somalia, telling her therapist just enough to keep her satisfied, but little did anyone know it was just barely scratching the surface. The visits to the therapist were courtesy of a strong suggestion from Vance- and Ziva didn't have the energy to fight it.  
If you didn't know any better, you would say everything was just fine, like old times- but if you looked closely, you could see it below the surface. Ziva's smiles never really reached her eyes. She was much more subdued than ever before. When answering questions, she was guarded, thinking carefully about her answers rather than blurting out the first thing that came to mind like she used to do- though it did still happen on the rare occasion.

The rest of the team knew it, felt it, but didn't know how to address it. Tony had given it a shot once, in the warehouse where he had tried to justify their breaking and entering. He received a very sad look, but very few answers, and it stuck in his mind like glue. She had said that what Saleem did was bad enough, becoming like him would be even worse. Tony really didn't know how to relate to that, was she defending the bastard or what? She chose to ignore him, concentrating on the warehouse. They never talked about it again  
until...

They had a new case. Ducky was at a loss as to what had happened to the poor man that was on his table. He had been tortured, but Ducky couldn't work out exactly how he had died. The man had burn marks on the tips of some of his fingers, and had some sort of burn marks on his chest, most likely from a rope being wrapped too tightly around his torso. Had the man been dragged over the ground with a rope? He also noted that some of the man's teeth and molars were broken, some were even missing. Ducky sighed. He had never seen this before. He didn't like to admit it, but he was at a loss.

"My dear boy, whatever happened to you? Don't worry. I will find out."

He tapped the man on the forehead and asked Palmer to take the samples from  
the body up to Abby. Soon after Palmer had left, Ziva entered the morgue.

"Ah, young Ziva. You're right on time to share some tea with me!"  
Ziva smiled. "Yes, I believe I am."

While Ducky busied himself making the tea, Ziva wandered over the dead man Ducky had been talking to. She paled when she saw the man's injuries, but remained in control of herself. She stepped a little closer to the man just to be sure that what she saw wasn't a dream- or more appropriately, a nightmare- but the moment she came closer to the dead body and that smell entered her nose, she turned around, ran to the nearest bin and vomited her breakfast straight into it.

Ducky turned around, alarmed by the sounds of her vomiting. "What's wrong dear?  
Breakfast didn't agree with you? Are you sick?" He raised his hand in order to feel her forehead, but she flinched away from him.

"Do not touch me."

Ducky immediately backed away, only crossing the distance between them to give  
her a glass of water and a towel. Ziva cleaned herself up and felt a little better.

"You are not alright. What is wrong? You know you can tell me."

Ziva sighed and sat down on the floor. "I am sorry." she said softly. "It  
is... him. How did he die?"

"I don't know, at the moment he remains a puzzle waiting to be solved."

"Does he have burn marks on some of his fingertips?"

Ducky looked at Ziva with questioning eyes. "Yes, he does."

Ziva looked at Ducky and slowly but surely lifted her hands, showing him the insides of her  
fingertips. Just like the man on the table, she had the same marks.

"How…" But Ducky knew. From that moment on he knew. She had been  
tortured the same way as this poor man on the table. He shook his head and sat  
down next to her on the ground. It was an odd sight, the elderly man sitting next to the young woman in the morgue, both alive, but remaining still and silent for a long time.

"They would…" Ziva drew in a deep breath. "Come and get me, and tie me  
to a chair. One of the men would tie some sort of cables to my chest. I  
realised soon enough that the cables were hooked up to a battery. They were  
going to electrocute me."

Ziva stared into the abyss. Nothing was said for a long time, Ducky knew not  
to press. She needed to do this on her own terms.

After a while she continued.  
"It is really odd to smell your own flesh burning, it has this strange odor.  
His teeth are probably also broken, or even missing." Ziva looked at Ducky for  
confirmation, who nodded. He stared at her intently, patiently waiting.

"They did not give me a piece of rubber to bite the first time they tried  
it. I nearly died because I bit my tongue so hard. After that, they would shove a piece of rubber inside my mouth so I did not bite it again. The shocks also caused my bodily functions to let go. I can still hear them laughing every time."

All of a sudden Ziva had enough. She needed some fresh air.

"He probably died because they used too much electricity." With that last  
sentence she got up, and before Ducky even got to his feet she was gone. She  
nearly ran into Gibbs, who was on his way down to see Ducky, but they passed one another without speaking. Gibbs entered the morgue and saw Ducky wipe his face with a cloth. He chose not to comment on that, figuring that if Ducky had something to say he would.

"What'd'ya got Duck?"

"I know how he died. He was electrocuted. They used too much power, and the  
poor fellow had no chance of surviving." Ducky told him in an uncharacteristically dull voice, like all the life had been sucked out of him.

"You told me that you didn't have a clue how he died. What happened?"

"They did it to her in Africa."

Silence.

Ducky didn't have to explain. Gibbs knew.

**TBC…..**


	4. Chapter 4

Once again thx to my betareader Vicky most of the language mistakes are delt with if there are any left it's all mine. I am getting confused, I thought I had allready published chapter 4 but I couldn't find it so here it is. Enjoy, leave a comment.

Running on Empty

Chapter 4

It took Ziva quite a while to pick up the courage to go back to NCIS. She had left in a hurry, grabbing her backpack on her way out of NCIS.

It was two o'clock when she returned to find the bullpen empty. She decided to scan through the crime scene photo's to see if they had missed anything. She continued clicking through the photo's when all of a sudden the clicker was snatched from her hands and Gibbs appeared in her vision.

He put the clicker on his desk and lifted both of her hands. He turned them over and had a good look at her fingertips. He did this without saying a word.

"How many times"

" Seven"

He let go of her hands, growled and walked off. He needed some space to digest this information.

After a while he came back with coffee and tea. He handed her the tea and started to drink his own coffee. Ziva looked at her tea like it was the 8th wonder of the world. It was Jasmine tea and as she took a sip she tasted the honey.

"You shouldn't bring me tea, they will notice."

"I will bring you tea when, where and whenever I want too"

"I don't want them to know. I don't want their pity."

Gibbs turned to face Ziva, but both Tony and McGee were just barging in. The entire incident in the morgue was not mentioned again during the afternoon.

The evening Ziva went over to Gibbs' house. She didn't even bother to knock on his front door and proceeded straight to his basement.

'Gibbs'

'Ziver'

' I need some time off tomorrow morning'

'Why?'

' I need to go to the dentist'

'Why?'

Could the man possibly say more than one word sentences she thought angrily.

'Like I said I am going to the dentist'

'Why?'

'To have my teeth checked out. Is there any other reason I would go to a dentist? I thought it was pretty obvious, if you go the dentist you go and get your teeth checked out, or am I missing something'

She was getting angry. She didn't want to inform him about her missing molars. She turned around and was heading back up the stairs when she heard him move. Before she realized it, he was already next to her on the stairs. He had taken her by the arm.

'What?' She barked

'I talked to Ducky'

'Oh'

Now she understood. He knew about the missing or broken molars and teeth in the victim's mouth and because she had similar things done to her he had put 2 and 2 together and figured out why she had to visit the dentist.

He raised his eyebrows. She sighed.

' I had my teeth checked when I still was recovering from ….everything. The dentist at the hospital I stayed in pulled some of them because they were too damaged from me biting on the hard piece of rubber they put in my mouth when they were electrocuting me. Now the gum in my mouth has healed enough to have it checked and maybe replace some of them.'

Gibbs nodded.

'Alright, when do you have your appointment'

'First thing in the morning eight o'clock so I should be at work around nine maybe ten.'

'Ok, I'll see you then'

The following morning Ziva was indeed missing and when Tony and McGee noticed Gibbs just mentioned that she had a dentist appointment and left it at that which was the truth after all.

Around 9.30 Gibbs received a call from the dentist office informing him that Ziva had left her coat in the waiting room when she left in a hurry. Gibbs frowned that meant she could have been here around 09.00 than why hadn't she.

Ziva arrived at ten o'clock at her desk. She was only there for a few seconds when Gibbs came around. He moved behind her and whispered in her ear that her dentist called with the message that she had left her coat behind when she left at 08.30. She turned bright red…..busted.

Gibbs wanted to know what happened, he had an idea but he needed to be sure. So when the opportunity presented itself he made sure Ziva was the one who escorted him in the outside world. When they were driving to a potential witness's house he confronted her.

'Your dentist said you left in rather a hurry without him finishing his exam'

Ziva just stared out the car window.

'Ziver'

'What' She looked at him with eyes that were filled with tears but she wouldn't let him see her cry.

'Talk to me'

'He went and put that awful paste in my mouth and I had a flashback that's what happened. I had a flashback of Saleem putting the rubber piece in my mouth before…they…' She couldn't finish the sentence.

They drove in silence.

'How about if I go with you'

Ziva turned around and looked at Gibbs.

'I am not a little girl that needs her fath…you to go with me'

She wanted to say father but she remembered the conversation she had with him in his basement. He never really acknowledged her saying that to him, he had just said OK at the time but that was it. They never talked about that conversation ever again. It was left in the dark place of her life where she had come from. This was now.

' I am not saying that, I just want to be there to let you know you're safe'

All during the time they were at the witnesses house she thought about it. She needed to get the dental work done that was for sure. She just wanted to eat a good meal without pain in her mouth, when some of that food started to hurt her gums.

On the way back she had made up her mind.

'Ok, I'll make another appointment if you go with me'

'Ok'

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

I would like to thank my beta reader Vicky for correcting my language and making it run/read more smoothly. I hope you enjoy. Please leave a review, it would much appreciated.

**Chapter 5**

It was a bit weird. An adult woman accompanied by a man who could be her father. They sat in the dentist's office and were waiting for the moment Ziva could go in. Gibbs could tell Ziva was nervous. She always played with her fingers if she was and this, if it was an indication, she was really nervous.

'Miss David'

The dentist looked at his next patient chart and knew this was going to be difficult. He had received a phone call from a man named Gibbs who had explained the reason why this woman had bolted the first time she had been in his dentist's chair. He knew he had to take it slow and explain every little move he was going to do.

When he saw the couple enter his office he immediately saw how nervous the woman was, but, none the less, she took a seat in the chair. He started with explaining every single move he was about to make, checking each and every time with the woman if it was OK that he went ahead with the procedure. Checking the inside of her mouth wasn't that much of a problem but then it came to placing the paste he had made inside her mouth so he could make a dental impression of her cavities was an entirely different story. She totally stiffened and her fingers grabbed the armchair like it was the last thing on earth. He didn't want to force it on her at especially since he knew the reason why, so he opted for another way.

'How about you do it yourself, just as long as you push it in really tight and let me check afterwards to see if you did it right. If it doesn't work the first time I have another batch ready and we can give it another try'

Ziva took the paste from him and after a few seconds carefully placed it in her mouth. She started to gag but kept the paste in her mouth. She made sure the paste was covering every part of her mouth just like the dentist had explained to her and after he had given his OK she bit down hard.

'Bite down good for a few minutes' He cheered her on like he was watching one of those football games on TV but she didn't last that long. Memories came flooding back and Gibbs could see panic forming in her eyes. He pushed the dentist away from Ziva's chair and stood over her.

'You are safe, you are not going to be hurt. I am right here, you are with me, you are not with them, you are safe, focus on me, come on Ziver you can do this'

Gibbs kept repeating the same thing over and over again. She didn't exactly relax but it was long enough for the paste to harden and be taken out by the dentist. She had bitten so hard that the recently healed gums had started bleeding again. The dentist carefully cleaned her mouth and took a look at the bleeding but wasn't that concerned about it. It would heal with time.

'You're probably going to be in pain for a couple of days but it shouldn't be that bad. You'll most likely experience muscle pain in your jaw from biting down on the paste. I'll give you some painkillers and when I have everything ready I'll contact you asap.'

Ziva hadn't said much during her entire ordeal but she shook his hand and a soft thank you was heard.

'Oh, before I forget. Ice cream will help with the pain inside your mouth.' The dentist was grinning. 'Normally I wouldn't recommend it, but in this case, just this once, it would be a good idea, keeps the swelling down'

Ziva couldn't agree more when she was holding on to an ice cream with three scoops on top. She and Gibbs had made a stop at the mall and were currently sitting on a bench outside. She was enjoying her ice cream, the dentist had been right, it did help. Her mouth wasn't as painful as it was when she had left the dentist's office. She was however, beginning to feel the pain in her jaw, but for now she enjoyed her ice cream. Talking was becoming a painful occupation so her sentences were very short. Gibbs hadn't heard much from her other than a couple of yes and no's. She did a lot of nodding and shaking her head.

'Hurts like hell doesn't it' Gibbs grinned at her.

She nodded. Anything to avoid talking and moving her jaw unnecessary. Eating her ice cream however was necessary so she took the pain that came with that.

Ziva and Gibbs arrived at NCIS headquarters and walked into the bullpen where McGee and Tony had an argument about McGee's dating habits or lack there off. It didn't take Gibbs long to have them all doing paperwork. When Gibbs looked up, he saw Ziva rubbing her cheeks, resting her head in her hands and drinking a lot of water and sloshing it around in her mouth and then dumping it in her cup. He saw she was bleeding because it was red every time she dumped it back into the other cup that was standing on her desk. He realized that was why she went to the bathroom often. To rise her mouth clean.

He went over, leaned over her shoulder. She flinched and he pulled back immediately, he realized she hadn't heard him come over to her desk.

'Go see Ducky, maybe he has some idea's how to dull the pain and stop the bleeding'

She nodded. Tony and McGee were looking on quite curiously.

'What's going on Boss'

Gibbs turned to his two other team members and decided that he should tell them something, but not everything. He would let Ziva decide whether or not she would let them know.

'Ziva had some dental work done this morning which was necessary after Somalia but her gums are bleeding a little bit right now'

'But she's going to be OK?' Tony sounded worried.

'Yeah, she'll be fine. Just keep an eye on her'

**TBC…**

AN: Years ago I had that damn paste in my mouth, it was horrible. I kept swallowing, gagging and when it was time to pull it out the dentist and I had wrestling match that would have looked good on ESPN.


	6. Chapter 6

I would like to thank yet again my Betareader Vicky for correction any language mistakes. If there any left, it's all mine. Enjoy and by all means leave a review.

**Chapter 6**

**Running on Empty**

Tony decided to follow Ziva into the ladies room. He entered and found Ziva at the sink. She rinsed her mouth out, a couple of times and Tony saw the blood coming out.

'You ok'

'No, but I will be' She mumbled. She was having trouble talking; she had pain in her jaw from that stupid paste. It seemed that it only got worse as the day progressed. Crap.

Tony placed his hand on her back and she flinched. It wasn't that she didn't trust Tony, but she was on edge more than usual from all the stuff that had been happening the last few days. He quickly withdrew his hand and took up position next to her so she could see him at all times.

'Gibbs went with you'

She nodded.

'To the dentist'

She nodded again.

"I would have gone with you'

She sighed.

'I wanted Gibbs' she murmured.

'Why'

She shrugged her shoulders and looked at Tony.

'He knows'

Tony understood.

'Is there anything I can do?'

Ziva shook her head.

'Should I get you some ice?'

'Had some'

'Ah…how about a smoothie then. The one you like so much, which one was it, oh yes the Berry mango one. I don't think you'll be eating anything solid today.'

Once again she shook her head. No, she didn't think she would be able to eat anything solid today, maybe tomorrow.

'Ok then, one smoothie Berry Mango for the lady. I'll ask McGee if he wants something and then I'll tell him to go get us something to eat at that freaky health store you always visit near Marion Park.'

Tony laughed at his own idea, getting McGee to go get them something for lunch, besides he figured the new Probie on the team needed some down time so he would focus on the old probie. Yeah, he would do that McGee had been way too forward lately. He left Ziva to her own devices. After Tony had left, Ziva looked in the mirror, she looked like a zombie. She was so tired; she hadn't slept well in ages. The nightmares wouldn't let her get a good night's sleep. They seem to be getting worse and worse. Each night she would relive her worst moments in captivity. That damn therapist she was visiting because of Vance's orders didn't seem to be doing her any good either. Talk about, Ziva it will help to digest all of it. Damn, she was done digesting. She wanted to hurt someone. She had so much rage building up inside of her, it was consuming her.

Later that afternoon Gibbs looked up to see Tony and McGee hard at work but when he looked at Ziva he saw to his surprise that she was asleep. No snoring, no sound, nothing came from her. She just sat there in her chair. He kept looking at her, noticing the tiredness in her entire body.

'She's been like that for at least half hour, Boss' Tony told him softly. 'She must be real tired, she didn't even woke up when I threw a paper ball at her'

Gibbs slowly walked over to Ziva's desk. He wanted to wake her up but he also knew that it wasn't a good idea just to shake her. He just took a view steps back and called for her.

'Ziver' There was no response. This time he called her name a little bit louder. 'Ziver' she woke up with a jump. She yelled something in Arabic and raised her hands in front of her so she would be protected from any blows she seemed to expect but when none came she realized she was in the NCIS office, at her own desk. She looked very embarrassed.

'Sorry' she murmured.

'What did I tell you about saying sorry?'

'Well I am sorry, I fell asleep on the job there is no excuse'

'Well in this case there is, it's been a long week. You all should go home early.' Gibbs decided. Tony and McGee didn't need to be told twice they were out the door before Gibbs could have changed his mind if he wanted to. Ziva however stayed behind but after some staring on his part she also threw in the towel and left for home.

He was at home sanding a chair when he heard his front door open and close. Ziva appeared in the door opening.

'Hey'

'Hey'

She descended down the stairs still looking very tired.

'Why aren't you at home, getting some well earned rest?'

She shrugged her shoulders.

'Sleeping is overrated. Can I just stay here and watch you?'

'Sure' Gibbs nodded, knowing full well why she had come here. She didn't want to be alone. She had been alone for almost four months in hell and he could tell she liked be around people. She didn't want them to touch her or hug her but being around them reminded her that she was still alive.

'So when are your teeth arriving?'

He heard her chuckle a little. It was a nice sound; he hadn't heard it in a long time. He kinda missed it.

'My teeth will be here in about a week or two'

'Do you want me to go with you again?'

'I have not decided yet' She had sat down on one of the steps. She was leaning her head against the wall, closing her eyes. She felt safe here; the smell of sawdust did something to her, which she couldn't describe.

Gibbs continued working on the chair and didn't notice that she fell asleep, just sitting there, watching him.

Gibbs turned around meaning to ask Ziva if she wanted something to drink, when he saw that his visitor had fallen asleep. He was contemplating what to do. Let her sleep in this uncomfortable position or try to get her to sleep in his guestroom. He decided to try and lift her up so he could carry her to the guestroom. He ever so gently lifted her up and to his surprise she didn't wake up. He put her on the bed in his guestroom and proceeded to get some blankets so she would be covered. He turned off the light and made his way to the kitchen, he poured himself something to drink when he heard it. A bone piercing scream came from the guestroom; he quickly dumped his coffee in the sink and ran towards the guestroom. He opened the door and found Ziva awake but trembling in a corner on the floor.

'I cannot do this anymore, please make it stop' She was pleading with him. 'Make it stop'

TBC…

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	7. Chapter 7

Vicky I hope this week it will be better and less chaotic. Thanks for taking the time to correct my work. People, if there are still mistakes in this one, it's all mine.

**Running on Empty**

**Chapter 7**

She was sobbing. Her head in her hands.

'I cannot do this anymore'

Gibbs kneeled in front of her.

'Can't do what anymore, Ziver.' He asked.

'Every time I close my eyes he is there. I feel his breath on my skin, I can smell his odor. I feel him violating me' She started to gag. The fear was gripping her.

She tried to push him away. Wiped her tears away with her sleeve.

'I am sorry. I shouldn't…'

'Dammit, Ziva talk to me'

'Talk about what, Gibbs what they did to me?' She screamed in his face.

'You want to know every little detail' She pushed him violently this time and he stumbled backwards.

'You want to know that what they did to me was so awful that I can never have kids or do you want to know that they passed me around so they all could have their way with me! Do you?'

She was screaming at the top her lungs right now. She saw red and started to fight the one thing that was the closest to her and that happen to be Gibbs. He received a few blows to the head and was forced to hit back. He knocked her out cold. He felt horrible; he had never hit a woman like this before. Sometimes it would be required in the line of duty, but that didn't even come close to this. He had actually hit her. He felt horrible but it had been necessary. It was either him or her.

If she had been completely healthy he wouldn't have been able to do this so easily, but her lack of sleep and the aftermath of Somalia had drained her both mentally and physically.

He scooped her body up and placed her back into the bed. He got his cell phone out and called Ducky. He briefly explained on the phone and Ducky was on his way.

Gibbs went downstairs, grabbed an icepack and went back up. He turned Ziva's face in such a way, that he could hold down the icepack on the right spot. The place he had hit her had already started to discolor. He remembered some details in her medical report, the left side of her face had been badly beaten and up to this date she still had hairline fractures in her eye socket. Damn, out of the places he could have hit her he hit her there. He also noticed that some blood was dripping out of the corner of her mouth. Oh, crap her mouth. He quickly grabbed her and laid her down, so she wouldn't choke on her own blood.

'Dammit, Ziver'

Gibbs heard Ducky enter his house.

'Up here, Duck'

It only took Ducky several moments to realize where it had come from. Once he got upstairs he quickly went to work.

'Oh, dear.' He moved her onto her right side, Ducky did a quick survey of Ziva's face and mouth and put Gibbs troubled mind at rest.

'I can't feel anything out of the ordinary. She took a blow to the head, but I don't think anything has been seriously damaged. I can't feel any dents near her eye socket so that shouldn't be a problem. However, to be on the safe side, I would recommend an X-ray.'

Gibbs let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. Thank God, he thought. He couldn't stand it if he had hurt her, if he had hurt a woman.

Ziva started to come around again. She was moaning a little. Suddenly her eyes flew open. Ducky immediately released his hold on her and stepped back, giving her enough space to take in her surroundings. She sat up against the headboard and after she regained her senses, it brought back the pain and the truth of what happened, and it began to sink in.

'You knocked me out'

'Yes, I did and I am sorry for that'

Ziva and Ducky both looked at him surprised. Gibbs had given her his apology.

'I needed to defend myself'

'Why?'

'You were out of control'

She nodded, clutching the icepack against the left side of her face.

'I remember. I am sorry for attacking you'

She got up, swayed a little, but rejected both Gibbs and Ducky's help.

'Bathroom'

'Down the hall, door on the left'

They heard the water running.

When she came back she was still clutching the icepack.

Gibbs cringed inwardly. He had done that to her. He had hit a woman.

'Does it hurt?' Ducky asked.

'A little'

'I would like to see you getting an X-ray as soon as possible'

Gibbs turned around, flew downstairs, grabbed his car keys and before either Ducky or Ziva realized it he was back in the room.

'Let's go'

'What, right now?' Ziva wasn't at all pleased with the entire idea. Hospitals weren't exactly were in her top 3 favorite places to go right now.

'Yes, right now'

Gibbs ushered Ziva and Ducky out of the room, down the stairs and into his car.

'How are we going to explain this?' Ziva mumbled.

'Well…' Gibbs didn't know. He was lost for words.

'So how did the boxing session go? Not to good so it would seem' Ducky said. He knew all too well that the moment, that if it was known that Gibbs and Ziva had been in a fight, they would be suspended pending an investigation.

Gibbs and Ziva looked at him and a ghost of smile appeared on Gibbs's face.

'Thanks, Duck'

Ziva nodded her approval as well. They arrived to the ER in record time.

After a short waiting period they were called in. The attending doctor took in the sight before him. Three persons of which two clearly didn't really wanted to be here were waiting anxiously treatment. The young woman was clutching an icepack and when he removed it, he whistled.'

'Aggh that must hurt'

'Yes, it does. He was a little too rough with me during boxing practice' she pointed at a somewhat elderly man, who simply raised his eyebrows.

'Happens, I thought she stepped backwards but instead she stepped forwards'

'Right and you always practice in your regular clothes' the doctor said not entirely convinced.

'No, he wanted to show me some of his moves'

The doctor still wasn't completely convinced, but when he checked her medical file he immediately noticed that she was a federal agent, so there could be some truth to this weird situation. He would let it pass this time, but he did add a note to her file, just in case.

**TBC…..**

Let me just state that I do not condone any domestic violence against man, woman and or child for whatever reason except when your life or that of your family is at stake.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks Vicky for beta reading this for me. I've been dumping a lot on you and my other beta reader Surferdude lately. I have decided to focus on this story for a while and finish the other one after I am done with this one. I got confused with the story lines, writing 3 stories and publishing 2 at the same time is getting a bit too much so I'll focus on this one first. Have fun and LEAVE A REVIEW

**Running on Empty**

**Chapter 8**

After she had been X-rayed and both the ER doctor and Ducky couldn't find anything wrong with her, other than the hairline fractures that were still present, she was released to go home. The ride back to Gibb's house was silent, except for Ducky's storytelling habit.

They all got out of the car and Ducky excused himself claiming he had a hot herbal tea waiting for him at home.

Ziva tried to make a quiet get away, but Gibbs was not having any of it. He took her by the arm and guided her into his house, before she got make herself scares.

'How long as this been going on?'

As soon as they entered his house he was on her case.

'What do you mean?'

'Dammit Ziva, how long haven't you been sleeping? How long has that bastard been invading your dreams?' He slammed his fist on the table and she flinched. He knew his mistake the moment his fist came down onto the table.

'Ah, hell Ziver. You know I would never hurt you'

'I know'

They sat there for what seemed like ages.

'I need to go home. I've got a headache' Ziva got herself up and walked to the door.

'You can stay if you want. I've got an extra bedroom'

'Yes, I know, but what if it happens again. I cannot take many more of these hits'

She tried to make a joke. 'And neither can you' She gently grazed her finger across the right side of his face.

'Sorry'

'Let me at least drive you home'

'Sure'

He drove her home and walked her to the front door.

'You OK?'

She nodded and they both knew she was lying. He kissed her on the forehead.

'Don't be in the office before ten o'clock or else there will be repercussions.'

She nodded once again.

'Take a sleeping pill, Ziva. Just this once. No human can go on without sleep the way you have. Ducky, gave you some just take one. Get some sleep tonight, Ok'

She turned around, unlocked her door and gave a poor excuse for a wave goodbye and closed the door behind her.

She leaned against it. Her head against the door. He didn't need to know that she was afraid that if she did take one she wouldn't wake up if the nightmares began once again and she couldn't bare the thought of Salem violating her again and again and not being able to wake up. She shivered. Waking up was her salvation.

Gibbs was relieved that the following day Ziva wasn't in the bullpen to greet him, maybe she had taken his advice and had indeed taken a sleeping pill.

'Wow Boss, what happened' Tony entered the bullpen and pointed at his face. 'You're supporting a big shiner there'

'Nothing I can't handle, DiNozzo'

They were doing paperwork when Ziva showed up just before ten o'clock.

'Well, nice of you to grace us with you're…' the next view words were stuck in Tony's mouth. Ziva was supporting a purple, blue, yellow shiner on the left side of her face. Her eye was completely swollen so she could barely see out of that eye.

'What the…, who did…' Tony didn't finish his second sentence of the day and that meant a lot.

'Boxing practice didn't go so well' she murmured. She shrugged her shoulders and sat down.

'Yes, DiNozzo. To answer your question. I did it. We hit each other simultaneously '

Gibbs was shocked at the sight of Ziva's face but decided that backing her up her story was the right thing to do. 'Except my punch was a little harder then we both expected. I am so sorry, Ziver'

'I am fine, it's just that the area you hit is still sensitive from, well…...before. I went to see my doctor this morning. He also said it looks worse than it actually is. So I am just fine'

Tony didn't know what to say or think, he was dumbfounded. Ziva supporting a shiner or Gibbs apologizing for it. What has to world come to?

'Rigggggght' he said. What a load of horseshit but he didn't feel the need to voice that out loud.

They worked until one o'clock when Ziva decided she needed some solid food, grabbing the keys to the van she took everyone's orders and headed out.

It took her about hour before got back. She looked forward to lunch, she was hungry. She didn't eat much this morning due to her teeth and her painful face but she could eat a horse right about now.

She dumped everyone's orders on their desks and unwrapped her lunch. Since she couldn't eat properly she had ordered a salad with chicken after slowly eating it she still felt very hungry and she was looking longingly at Tony's Philly cheese steak.

Tony saw her watching and actually licking her mouth.

'You want some'

She shook her head, pointing at her jaw.

'Want to, but I cannot. I still have to wait another week or so before I get my teeth'

'I can cut it into very little pieces'

She looked longingly at the Philly cheese steak again but decided against it.

'No, but thanks anyway, I just have to suck it up'

Tony looked at her with big eyes.

'What?'

'Nothing, you got that one right'

Ziva's face was throbbing, so she sneaked out and went down to the morgue.

'Hello Ducky, have you got some ice?'

'Sure, everything alright?'

'Yes, it's just…' Ziva couldn't come up with the right word. She opened and closed her right hand hoping Ducky would get the idea of what she meant.

'The word you are looking for is throbbing, my dear' Ducky opened one of his 'coolers' and lifted an icepack out of it.

'Here you go; you can take a seat at my desk' Ducky pointed towards his desk and Ziva sat down gingerly with the icepack inside of towel against the left side of her face. She sighed, that helped. The bruise felt like it was having a fever and this cooled it down considerably.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep in the chair; she had grown accustomed to sleeping sitting down so this wasn't any different.

**TBC…..**

**That's right push the button, you can do it, leave a comment/review.**


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